Expressing disappointment over the recent comments by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani against President Barack Obama, US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said that it is ‘regrettable’ to know that the ex-Mayor has questioned the President’s integrity towards his country and his people.
In his interview to CNN’s “State of the Union”, Johnson said that Giuliani’s words and thoughts about the President are “very regrettable”.
“I do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America,” Giuliani had said while addressing a gathering at a private group dinner in New York last week.
Johnson notes that he was once hired by fellow New Yorker Giuliani as a federal prosecutor and that more recently, the two visited fire stations and police precincts in Lower Manhattan on the Sept. 11 anniversary.
The Homeland Secretary said that he has always admired Giuliani for his response to the 2001 terror attacks but his recent statements for the President is really a sorry incident.
The critical statements by Giuliani came in response to Obama’s speech in last week’s three-day summit over methods to combat violent extremism.